PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — About 1,000 graduating seniors from Pittsburgh Public Schools celebrated the journey to higher education on Tuesday.

It’s a big decision when it comes to life after high school graduation, but a group of students from underserved communities who gathered at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall on Tuesday worked hard to make that dream come true.

Each graduating student gets $20,000 for four years to use at any accredited post-secondary institution in Pennsylvania. 

“I’m going to have a lot of my family here and I’m very happy about graduating,” said Westinghouse Academy senior Sai Penn.

The Pittsburgh Promise held a big Senior Celebration Day for nearly 1,000 graduating seniors from Pittsburgh Public at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall to mark the occasion for these student’s post-graduation plans.

Pittsburgh Promise coaches work inside four PPS schools, including Carrick, UPREP at Milliones, Perry and Westinghouse. 

Penn said to her coach, “Thank you so much for all the help you’ve given me. I’m very much grateful for it.”

Coaches make sure students have personalized post-high school plans. 

“It feels good to support students with their dreams, it feels good to be their coach and help them figure out what they want to do with their life aspirations,” said Promise coach Emmanuel Walker.

Each student has a minimum GPA of 2.5 and an attendance of 90%. Collectively, The Pittsburgh Promise recipients can attend more than 150 institutions of higher learning. 

“The Pittsburgh Promise is not the organization, nor the scholarship, nor the coaching — the Pittsburgh Promise is the child,” said The Pittsburgh Promise Executive Director Saleem Ghurbril. 

Preparing for, planning for and paying for higher education — that’s the promise kept for more than 1,000 students in the city.

The Pittsburgh Promise will continue funding students with scholarships through the graduating class of 2028, which carries them through 2033. After that, they will work on policy work as well as continue coaching.